


Artsy as Fuck

by Smellslikezombies



Category: Ride or Die (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Art School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kind of angsty, Kinda, MC is an artist, Mutual Pining, On Hiatus, Rough Sex, Smut, colt is a mechanic, enjoy, everythings eventual because i have no clue where im going with this, haha fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:48:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23471956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smellslikezombies/pseuds/Smellslikezombies
Summary: Colt picks up an extra job for some extra cash. He doesn't expect standing naked for an hour every few days to actually land him a date.*On hiatus*
Relationships: Colt Kaneko/Main Character (Ride or Die)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	1. Charcoal

**Author's Note:**

> hi idk i was washing my hair when i thought of this but basically colt is a nude model for mc (Roze Wheeler)'s art class and he's rly confident and she's kinda intimidated by him so yeah enjoy!!

“Go ahead and take off your robe, Mr. Kaneko.”

“Sure. And...it’s Colt. Don’t worry about formality when I’m going to be naked in front of you for an hour, sir.”

The professor laughed, clapping Colt on his bare shoulder. Colt had at least a foot on him and was significantly beefier, but he was almost knocked off his footing by the older man. Colt took the robe off but kept a towel wrapped low around his hips to keep his modesty until the art students arrived. 

“You ever model before, Colt?” The professor was moving around the room quickly, tidying up and preparing the easels for the students who were supposed to be arriving any minute. 

“Can’t say I have,” Colt admitted, positioning himself on a large white platform in the middle of the easels arranged in a circle on the light wood floor. Each wall of the room was a window with three of them facing outside. Colt had been reassured that each window was one-way, so passersby couldn’t see in. He didn’t particularly care, but figured that the studio wanted to avoid complaints about a naked man being so...displayed, even if it was in the name of education. 

“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. The artists will tell you how to position and move, so just listen to them and you’ll be fine.” The professor ended his advice just as a student walked in followed by a stream of classmates with pencils and charcoal at the ready. Colt kept his cool and ensured that his face remained neutral, not wanting to give away too much to a room of strangers. Each student surprised him, though, by asking his name and how he was doing. He was expecting pretentious artists who couldn’t give less of a fuck about him; what he got was a group of kids his age who were polite and just as poor as he was. Another thing he was expecting was at least a little bit of discomfort at drawing him naked, but once he dropped his towel and struck a final pose on his platform, the class just began with no objection--all but one. 

A girl with a braid down to her waist had caught Colt’s eye as she walked in, eyeing his chest and suggestive towel placement with an indecipherable expression. Her true feelings were painted in the soft blush coloring her tan cheeks pink. After looking him in the eye and giving a brief greeting, she immediately averted her gaze and practically ran to an easel. Colt didn’t have time to worry about it with the rest of the class eager to begin, but the girl’s face still stayed in the back of his mind as the room filled with the sound of light joking from the artists and the scratch of their utensils on paper. As soon as the students began drawing, different demands were called out at him as politely as possible. 

“Can you put your fingers under your chin, please?”

“Colt, would you be comfortable if you stretched your arm behind you?”

“Would it be alright if you spread your legs just a little bit wider, Colt?” He raised his eyebrows at that last one, but figured he wasn’t paid to question it. The girl he’d noticed before happened to sit in the seat he was facing, and Colt enjoyed watching her features contort in concentration. She had never asked him to move or change how he was sitting on the chair on the platform, but she seemed to take every movement in stride, never letting frustration show on her face. She had chosen charcoal as her tool and his eyes traced her hands and fingers, stained black with her effort to capture Colt on the page. Her eyes flicked back up at him to study another line of his body to soon be translated to paper, but they met with his gaze instead. A fresh coat of pink was brushed across her neck, blooming from the collar of her plain white t-shirt that was stained almost as much as her hands. She moved her eyes down to her paper to sketch out his body more and Colt took the chance to study her a bit more. 

Her eyebrows were knit together and her hands were making measured strokes against the paper before gently blending out with her fingers. He wondered how he looked to her and what she would show of him on the easel. He knew that with the way his legs were posed, his muscular thighs were on display for her, which he reasoned could be the cause of her blush. _Maybe she had never been with anyone before,_ he thought before pushing it out of his mind. Now wasn’t the greatest time to be thinking of sex. The girl leaned closer to her paper before blending more and Colt fought to suppress a laugh as her tongue barely peeked out her lips in concentration. The irony of the innocence of her action next to the picture of the naked man she was drawing was definitely bringing him to the brink of falling off the chair. 

“Colt? Are you alright?” His expression (of course) didn’t escape another girl a few spaces down. Colt tore his eyes away from the beauty in front of him and looked at the girl who had exposed him, trying to come up with a reason for his face in the split second it would take to turn his head. 

“Uh, yeah. Sorry,” he answered lamely. Inwardly, he cringed at his response but remained cool. 

“No need to apologize, Colt! I was just about the call time anyway. Alright, put a name on the back of your art and leave it on the easel,” the professor announced, clasping his hands together. “Go get some lunch and I should have these graded quickly.”

As the students began to pack up, Colt hopped off his platform to quickly dress in the small bathroom connected to the studio, splashing water on his face before exiting again. Glancing around the room, he had to admit that he was slightly upset that he never got the mystery girl’s name before she left, but he figured that if he was going to ask for it, she would be more receptive to a dressed man. The professor spotted him and invited Colt to look at the different artworks, but to avoid seeming oddly fixated on one of his students, he leisurely walked around the circle of easels, staring at each picture of his naked body. It was weird to him, seeing the lines of his anatomy so clearly sketched on the paper. Colt did consider himself somewhat attractive, but in the rugged way associated with being a mechanic. He was grease and sweat and muscles. The sharp lines of his face and pointy corners of his attitude defined his physical being. 

These sketches though...they were all graceful waves and soft shading. They made him look...beautiful, unlike any way he had ever seen himself. 

“Good, aren’t they?” the professor asked, watching Colt’s amazed expression with amusement. “They’re one of my best classes. Don’t tell them that, though.”

Cole smiled as he reached a specific girl’s paper and let out a small gasp. The other students had only included his body due to the specific assignment being about anatomy, but this girl somehow found time to draw his face as well. The professor whistled next to him. 

“Roze doesn’t disappoint. She’s always been quick!” he exclaimed, leaning closer to the paper for a better look. “The detail is immaculate.” Colt figured he should have been uncomfortable or at least weirded out at how closely the professor was studying his body, but after looking at his own face etched into the paper, all thought left his mind. 

Colt’s face was depicted with a slightly amused look, complete with a barely-there smirk and a single raised eyebrow. He could feel the snark that so many people knew him for dripping from the paper. The way this girl seemed to capture it without ever having a conversation with him bewildered him beyond belief. The blending created shadows accentuating his cheekbones and sharp jawline, bringing out the masculine qualities typically associated with him. 

Colt’s eyes meandered down the page and saw that his collarbone was also dramatized with shadows, muscles impeccably defined, and the pose she had caught him in only emphasized the overall sass of the picture. He had been instructed to raise his chin and place his fingers under it, which gave the picture the haughtiness of a prince being told to work; the stretch of his torso and the flexing of his abs added a seductiveness Colt had never been expecting the girl to really sketch. This girl--Roze--was talented. 

The ringing of his phone pulled Colt away from the picture and he hurriedly answered it. “Hey, Pop. What do you need?” Colt would’ve been foolish to consider his father was calling for any other reason than a job. 

“Are you finished with your thing, son? We have a customer that stepped in just as I was about to step out.” His father’s voice crackled through his phone’s speaker and Colt could hear the exhaustion. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there in five.”

“Fantastic.”

* * *

Walking into the shop and hearing laughter wasn’t uncommon; hearing it when it was just supposed to be his father and a customer was definitely not normal. Cautiously, Colt parked his bike and took his helmet off, trying to gain information from the scene before he entered it. Unfortunately, the two were in the office, so the only way to learn was to walk directly into the lion’s den. 

“Hey,” he greeted his father as he stood in the doorway to the office. As the customer was turning around, Colt thought to himself how familiar the braid going down her back was. He realized why when he faced Roze, the girl who had drawn him so perfectly that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the picture as he rode over to the shop. The blush returned to her neck and face as she undoubtedly thought about him naked just half an hour before. 

“Colt!” she exclaimed, lip immediately becoming worried under her white teeth. 

“Uh, hey.”


	2. Wrench

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected customer leads to unexpected tension at the garage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! this chapter was honestly like pulling teeth, and im sorry its so short!!

Thank God that his father was there because if he hadn’t been, Colt would’ve died of dehydration before he actually said anything beyond a typically boring greeting. She stared back at his awkward expression, seeming to weigh the consequences of elaborating on how they know each other versus just staying silent and letting someone else speak first. Teppei Kaneko, ever the nosy father, refused to let her choose for herself. 

“Oh, you two know each other? How so?” Teppei raised his eyebrows at his son, assuming that this girl was yet another scorned lover. It was no surprise to him that Colt did attract so many people, but he had to admit that having one partner show up after their singular night of passion was rare. Teppei never believed Colt to be the type to bring anyone home for the holidays. Roze’s mouth opened and closed, but Colt quickly came to her rescue to avoid her having to explain that she just stared at his naked body to draw it. 

“That thing I did this morning...it was for an art class. She drew me,” Colt explained, refusing to go into any deeper detail. Teppei seemed to connect the dots of what kind of “drawing” really happened from the uncomfortable tension that settled over the room like a plastic tarp. He smiled to himself and thought about how this entertainment was definitely worth being late to his meeting. 

“Ah...I see. Well, Miss Wheeler has problems with the undercarriage of her car...pretty routine. Can I trust you to handle it?”

“Yeah, Pop.” Colt sent a curt nod to his father as the older man stood and left the shop in his perfectly kept antique Aylesbury. Roze remained silent while she followed Colt into the garage, and he only spoke to explain what he was doing to her car and how much it would cost. She sat in a chair in the garage and Colt let a small surprised grunt. 

“You don’t have anyone to pick you up? This will take a few hours,” he asked, grabbing his tools while he looked at her. She glanced up from the sketchbook in her lap and regarded him suspiciously. 

“I don’t have anything to do today and I need sketching practice, so I figured I could just stay here. That alright?” she said, tone defensive and accusatory. Colt’s eyebrows furrowed and he could feel his temperature rising. _Who does she think she is?_ He questioned himself. _I’m just being polite_. He grit his teeth.

“Just asking.”

“Well, you don’t need to.”

“Damn, fine!” He rolled under the car to seethe to himself in peace, trying to focus on the work needing to be done on her car. He quickly noticed the problem (something messed up the muffler) and set to work fixing it, fuming while doing so. His internal monologue supplied him with ideas about her that his rage solidified.

 _Does she not think it’s kind of awkward for me, too? She doesn’t even know me yet she’s judging,_ he thought, grabbing a socket wrench and gripping it tight enough to turn his knuckles white. All of a sudden, he heard her voice, soft and lilting across the garage. Without rolling back out, Colt stilled his movements and craned his ear to listen. 

“Yeah, he’s here!... There’s something wrong with my muffler, I don’t know...No, I didn’t listen...Yeah, it’s white!... I don’t know, I think he could...Crazy, I know!” He figured she must be on a call, but what she was saying made his blood boil. _She didn’t even listen when I was explaining her stupid car?_ “I did feel bad though.” _Feel bad? For me? Why?_ Colt’s eyebrows knit and his eyes narrowed under the car. She was still laughing into the phone so he resolved to just tune her out and fix her car so she could leave him alone. Resuming his efforts on her vehicle, his focus was fueled by his own anger at this girl’s judgment and mockery. 

Finally, her problem was fixed and he rolled out to see Roze still in her seat, bent over her sketchbook. “You’re all done,” he spat, venom dripping from his words. She glanced up and shot him a face, questioning but guarded. 

“Thanks, Mr. Attitude. You get a wrench stuck up your ass in the last few hours or what?”

“Just pay me an go, Pain-in-my-ass-o,” he said, slightly prideful in his clever pun on Picasso. She looked unimpressed. 

“You been sitting on that one for a while, huh?” He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” She took out a wad of bills and counted out her total before putting the rest back in her bag. Colt rolled his eyes again and when he looked back at her, she was holding an envelope out to him. “Thanks.”

Colt took the envelope, ignoring the strange tingly feeling in his fingers when their tips brushed. After glancing at her sketchbook, he remembered her drawing of him in class. “I liked your drawing, by the way.” He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but she still stopped before getting into her car to respond.

“Thank you?” She seemed confused but blushed nonetheless. As much as Colt didn’t like Roze, he had to admit that she was cute when she was flustered. The thought surprised him as she backed out of the garage. 

She was gone and he was left alone in the garage to sit with what just happened. As Colt walked up to his room, a flow of thoughts ran through his head to the rhythm of his lone footsteps on the concrete of the hallway. He arrived in his bedroom and shut the door in case any of the other workers came into the garage, relishing the quiet zone of privacy he had created for himself. 

The walls were a dark grey complemented by the black curtains covering his window. His bed was pushed into a corner and was framed by the two posters on the wall by it: one of a motorcycle and another of a band he liked. A desk was positioned against the opposite wall and was bare besides the silver computer on it. Sighing, he collapsed onto the bed and looked at the envelope Roze had given him. After opening and shaking it, the contents fluttered down onto the fabric of his comforter. A thick piece of paper folded into the bills of money caught his eye and he briefly forgot about the stacks of green to investigate.

The paper was folded twice, but Roze did it in such a way that the drawing on it wasn’t compromised. A simple pencil sketch depicted the garage and her car with his motorcycle parked a little ways away. Her car was lifted and she had drawn Colt’s body from the waist down sticking out from underneath the vehicle. The background of the garage consisted of the numerous posters Toby insisted on putting up to make the garage less “scary” for customers. Colt’s eyes returned to his drawn figure sticking out from the car and studied the perfect rendering of the folds of his jeans as he worked, the pose forever captured in the graphite. Money officially forgotten, he retrieved some thumbtacks from his desk and used them to add the drawing to his small collection of posters. 

He looked at it for a long time before jumping as his phone started to ring. Glancing at the artwork one more time, he answered his phone with a gruff greeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont forget to comment and if you wanna talk to me about this or anything else hmu on tumblr @mrsbhandari!!


	3. Paintbrush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colt goes back to the studio to help out the class some more. Unfortunately, he's hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 1:30 am and my back is KILLING me but i knew I would forget to post if i didn't right at this moment sooooo here it is!! also love the summary right haha. ENJOY

Before he could lose his nerve completely, Colt thought of the money and walked into the studio to be greeted by the professor and bright, natural light of the room. Outside of the money offered, Colt could feel another reason tugging at the back of his mind for being here, but he shut it away and focused on what the professor was telling him about the assignment at hand. 

“You were highly requested by my class, so I hope you don’t mind being on call a little bit more,” he was saying, and Colt shook his head to prompt him to continue. “They’re painting today and I want to focus more on the shoulders and face, so you can keep your pants on.” The professor offered a calm smile and Colt returned with a laugh.

“Good to hear, I think your students would get tired of seeing me naked eventually.”

“Wouldn’t be too sure about that one, Colt. A lot of my students were particularly _pushy_ about getting you undressed again.” The professor let out a low whistle as he prepared the sheet Colt would be posing in front of for the students. Colt remained neutral but found himself wondering if Roze was one of the students he was talking about. When he realized what his mind was doing, he shoved the thoughts down and shook his head, willing them away. Luckily, students came pouring into the studio, armed with brushes and some of their own paints if they decided to bring them. They all said their greetings and took their seats in the large semi-circle of chairs and easels set up around a stool that Colt would pose on in front of the sheet. Roze sent him a curt nod before settling into a chair directly in the middle of the set-up. Colt barely held in a scoff and took a seat on his own stool. 

“You all knew we’re painting today, but we’re going to be focusing on the face; shadows, highlighting, and shading are a big part of today,” the professor instructed, clasping his hands together and excitedly glancing around at his students, who had all found their seats. A girl, who introduced herself as Ingrid last time he was in the studio, leaned around her easel to address Colt. 

“Thank you _so much_ for modeling again, Colt. We love drawing you.” She ended with a smile and fluttered her eyelashes at him. She was situated on his left side, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Roze frown and knit her brows. She seemed to be busying herself by examining her brushes, but she was staring too intently to be believable. Colt decided he didn’t like Ingrid, but he didn’t know why; maybe, she was too obvious with her crush on him or maybe, she was too loud about her ass-kissing. Either way, he wanted to...not talk to her anymore. 

“Is there something wrong with your eyes?” he asked, barely holding back a smile at Ingrid’s face contorting into an expression of bewilderment and embarrassment. Was it petty as hell? Yes, but it was also worth it for that look. He heard a snort and turned to see Roze snickering behind her hand, still studying her brushes with too much attention. Ingrid’s face flushed (Colt decided he liked it better when Roze did it) and she turned her own attention to her easel, trying to seem like the giggles from her classmates didn’t bother her. She sent extra glares to Roze, but the professor seemed completely oblivious to the exchange that just happened. He clapped to calm the class down and turned to colt. 

“You can undress now.” Colt took his shirt off, smiling at some whistles that erupted across the room. The students were definitely getting more comfortable with him, and he found himself not minding as much as he usually would’ve. 

“Nothing you haven’t seen before,” he joked, prompting laughter from the class. He noticed Roze didn’t laugh, only gave him a look of angry confusion, and he ignored the slight twinge of disappointment that popped into his mind. He waited for the students instruction before striking a pose. 

“Hey, can you look ahead and slightly to the right?”

“Put your hand around your neck, loosely. Raise a finger--yes, perfect!”

“Raise your chin a little, please.” He did everything he was told and soon leveled his breathing. Since they were painting him, he knew that he would be sitting there for way longer than he had when they were just sketching. Luckily, he had an interesting subject to study for himself. 

Roze sat in front of him, straddling her easel as she leaned close to the canvas to sketch. His eyes bored into her, studying her and taking her appearance in. Her hair was held back by a bandana and loose, which only emphasized just how _long_ it was. Thick waves caressed her shoulders, revealed by a sleeveless top that looked like a ripped up t-shirt with a large flower printed in the middle. Her leg bounced and he wondered if she was nervous. She seemed to be intensely concentrated, eyes never wavering from the easel. 

_I wonder how long she can go without looking at me_ , he thought, slightly amused at his game. He noticed that the other students would look up at him in intervals of, at most, a few minutes, but he counted ten before Roze looked back at him. He met her gaze, unwavering, as if daring her to draw him inaccurately. It was strange; when she stared back, he felt even more exposed than when they first met. Her eyebrow twitched, a quick movement that would have been easily missed had Colt not been studying her with everything he had. She broke their contact to continue her artwork, moving on to paint his likeness. Glancing around, he noticed that everyone else was still sketching. 

_How fast_ is _this girl?_

He knew that art was hard; he didn’t have to actually be an artist to appreciate the heavy amount of skill it must take to create. But she must’ve been superhuman to be able to move on that fast! He had seen the stuff she did and knew that she was talented. He would even go as far as to say that she had a gift. 

Would he say it to her face though?

Never. 

He could acknowledge that she was good at art while also admitting that she was kind of a bitch. His limited impression of her wasn’t a great one, and it still came to mind as he watched her work. Her tongue did its thing again, sticking out in a cartoonish expression of her concentration and total focus. Suddenly, Roze let out a small grunt of frustration. Riya, Roze’s friend who was sitting next to her, leaned over to look at her easel. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Collarbone.”

“Mm,” Riya hummed with comprehension. “You can ask him to move, you know.” Roze pulled her lips tight and nodded. 

“Colt, sorry, uh...can you move your right shoulder down just a hair?” He moved down for her. “No--Professor?”

“Hm?”

“Can I move Colt?” A fresh splash of red appeared on her cheeks when the professor nodded and continued walking around to critique his students’ works. She stood from her easel and walked the short distance to where he was sitting on the stool. 

He didn’t dare breathe as she gently held his chin in place and moved his shoulder to where the light hit it perfectly. Looking at her, he realized that she was holding her breath, too. The pressure on his chin got him for some reason and made his face completely fill with color. Posing naked he could do, but enduring the barely there touch of a haughty and guarded art student was apparently too much for him. His skin burned where she moved his shoulder, and up close he realized that she had a mole directly next to her left eye. As she pursed her lips, he also saw a small dimple form high up on her cheek. He wondered what she saw when she was moving him, eyes roving over his face and body as she gently guided him into the pose she wanted. Ingrid scoffed as she watched. 

“Alright, lovebirds,” she huffed, immediately shrinking when Roze’s steely glare fell on her. 

“Pardon?” The professor’s eyes widened as he watched the two girls face off, finally paying attention to the tension of the room. Riya gently pulled his arm when he tried to move forward and intervene. The two students continued. 

“Flirting with him isn’t going to make your art much better. Not that he would ever actually go out with you anyway,” Ingrid challenged, raising her manicured eyebrow. Roze opened her mouth, but without thinking, Colt beat her to responding. 

“Actually, we’re dating.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI!! I hope you liked it!! i wanted to continue but it was getting just a tad bit long for what i wanted to come next so rip but yeah. if you wanna talk to me bout it you can comment and talk to me at my tumblr @mrsbhandari!! thank you so much!!!!!!


	4. Ballpoint Pen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colt takes reluctant Roze on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS TOOK FOREVER TO WRITE AND I APOLOGIZE i finally got an idea for where i kinda wanted this to go so yeah!! i hope you like it!! also i know this is kind of slow rn but i swear its going somewhere

Roze turned to him with wide eyes a look that silently asked “what the _fuck_ are you doing?!” Colt ignored her in favor of staring down Ingrid, whose eyebrows were furrowed as her gaze switched between him and Roze. 

“No you’re not,” she accused. “You and _Roze_? Hell no.” Colt squinted but this time, Roze beat him to the punch.

“Why do you say that?” The entire class was silent now, watching the argument with varying levels of amusement and worry. Roze had turned to Ingrid and was glaring daggers, daring her to say what she meant.

“Hm, you’re frumpy, annoying, kind of a bitch--”

“And mine,” Colt jumped in, feeling oddly protective of Roze despite agreeing with two-thirds of Ingrid’s statement.Their eyes met again and Colt silently begged Roze to go along with his rescue. She seemed to get the message and stayed quiet, letting him take over. “Now can we get back to the class?”

The professor jumped in at this point, settling the class down and putting them back on track. The rest of the class was silent for the remaining time to complete their artwork, and Colt continued to watch Roze as he posed. She didn’t look shaken or thrown off at all by Ingrid, and he hid an impressed look at how truly _unbothered_ she was. Unfazed, she painted and completed her work before half of the class. She used the rest of the time to touch up her art. He was restless, aching to see how it turned out. After minutes that seemed like hours, she signed her art and packed her things, desperate to escape her hellhole of a class. Ingrid wasn’t feeling merciful as she grabbed Roze’s arm in the lobby of the building. Colt packed his own stuff up and raced to follow them, not wanting a fight to break out for fear of his job. He entered the lobby to see Ingrid with a death grip on her forearm, sure to leave bruises. 

“What the _fuck_ , Ingrid?!” Roze exclaimed, wrenching her arm out of the other’s grasp. She took a step back and collided with Colt, who put a protective arm around her shoulders and gave a glare to Ingrid, who scoffed at the sight of the couple. 

“You can’t fool me, Roze. I bet you’re paying Colt to pretend so that you seem cool! You would do that, slut,” she scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. His arm tensed with the effort to hold Roze back, as she seemed to lose her mind at the insult.

“I’m deescalating this. Roze, go wait by my bike,” Colt instructed, giving a pleading look to his new girlfriend when she sent a glare his way. She understood and walked out, checking Ingrid with her shoulder on her way. 

“I’m not talking to you unless you’re offering to let me blow you,” Ingrid snarled. 

“I’m most definitely not offering.”

“Hm. Your loss. See you.” With a flourish, she turned on her heel and left, going in the opposite direction of where his bike was parked. Walking back to the studio, he spotted the professor looking at the paintings of Colt. 

“Sir, I’m so sorry about that, I really like this job and I want to continue it--”

“Colt! Deep breaths! Your little job here isn’t endangered because of a spat between students. Honestly, I should be the one apologizing to you.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that, sir.” Colt let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and looked at the painting he was standing in front of, which just so happened to be Roze’s. She had successfully been able to finish his collarbone, and he almost choked on his spit the longer he looked at it. The hand wrapped around his throat was perfectly rendered, giving the entire work a sense of eroticism he hadn’t realized she would depict. His face was twisted into a small smirk at something off to the right and his hair was messy, but the lines were so perfect that Colt had a hard time believing that she had painted it despite sitting in front of her while she did it. Remembering he told her to wait outside, he yelled out a thank you to the professor before rushing to see if she waited for him. 

A figure was leaning against his bike, creating a stark contrast with her dark jeans against the white body work. The light seemed to hit her just right, making her skin glow in the rays of the sun as she looked down at her phone. 

“Hey, you waited,” Colt said, boots making for loud steps on the concrete as he walked towards her. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” He stopped at his bike, grabbing the helmets off the handlebars and tossing one to her. She caught it with ease. 

“Taking you on a date, girlfriend.”

* * *

After a five minute speech convincing her that he wasn’t going to kill her, she got on the bike. After a ten minute ride, they both arrived at his destination: a small local diner. Roze climbed off the bike first, prompting Colt to slightly miss her warmth behind him and around his waist. The thought disappeared as she stomped her way inside. 

_Whatever._

Sliding across from her in the booth she occupied, he ordered a black coffee and some waffles, raising his eyebrows when she scoffed at his order. “Something you wanna say?”

“No,” Roze snapped, oblivious to the nervous glances of the waitress between them. “I’ll have a burger and a Coke.” The waitress walked to the kitchen with their orders, leaving an angry Roze and an uncaring Colt at the table. 

“Why’d you scoff?”

“Why’d you bring me here?”

“I asked you first.”

“Immature child.”

“Uptight shrew.”

“Asshole.”

“Vulgar.”

“You deserve it.”

“For saving your ass?”

“Waffles and a burger?” Their spat was interrupted by the anxious waitress setting the plates down in front of them, the steam from the food only adding to the heat between them. Colt gave her a smile and quickly dug into his meal, drowning the plate with syrup before shoveling it into his mouth. Roze was never one to deny a meal paid for by someone else, so a silence settled over the table as they both ate. Once he finished his meal, Colt was the first to speak. 

“Ingrid’s annoying and I figured the best way to get her off both of our asses was to make me unavailable and prove to her that you can get a guy as hot as me,” Colt explained, rolling his eyes when she snorted and almost choked on a piece of lettuce. “Two birds with one stone.” She continued coughing, so he handed the water glass that came with his coffee to her. “Don’t die, or I’ll be a primary suspect.”

“You could’ve...poisoned...the water,” she said between gasps of breath.

“Too obvious and easily traceable.”

“Fine.” She drank the water, finally getting proper lung usage back. “Well it’s already been proven. Why not ‘break up’ so we don’t have to pretend?”

“Did you hear the thing about me being unavailable? As soon as there’s even a hint at me not having a partner, she’ll pounce. Plus she’ll probably make fun of you for not being able to keep such a hot boyfriend. Lose-lose situation.” Colt leaned back in the booth and watched Roze think about it. He was pleased to note that her tongue breached her lips no matter what she was thinking about, not just when she was drawing. After minutes of her cartoonish deliberation, she nodded. 

“Fine, I’ll go along with it.” Colt gave a smug smile. 

“Ha ha.”

“Fuck off. If this is going to work, we’ll need rules.”

“Ugh, lame!” Colt exclaimed, catching the attention of some other patrons in the diner. Roze took a bite of her burger, leaving Colt to wonder just how she could fit so much in her mouth. He internally raised his eyebrows. 

_Definitely don’t let that thought go too far._

“You can’t kiss me--”

“Vetoed,” Colt cut her off, ignoring the anger flashing in her glare. “It won’t be believable if I don’t kiss you.”

“We can say we’re private people!”

“Your class has seen me naked, Roze.”

At that, she stammered, face flushing and eyes widening. Thinking about that class did something to her, something that she wasn’t sure she liked since it was about a haughty, nosy, frustratingly attractive _dick_ who acted like he could get away with murder. But hearing her name on his lips only added to it, making her choke _yet again_. Colt smiled but offered his glass of water again. 

“Will you _stop_ that?!” he commanded, brushing off the disapproving looks from the other customers again. Apparently, yelling at your girlfriend in public when she’s choking isn’t socially accepted. _Duly noted._ She glared as she composed herself, face finally returning to its natural tan color. 

“Sorry, but you’re not kissing me.”

“Can I hug you at least?”

“For a limited time.”

“Your loss.” Roze rolled her eyes. “We should arrive together, though.”

“Why?”

“To save the planet, Kahlo.”

“Whatever. And don’t call me that. I could never be as good as her.”

Colt wanted to tell her that she was already truly incredible and that her art was most likely going to be studied in classrooms in a few years, but after looking at the insecured face of the troubled artist sitting across from him, he knew it wouldn’t be helpful. “How far away are you from the shop?”

“A two minute walk.”

“Great, when I model for another one of your classes, we can go on my bike.”

“Seriously?” Roze’s eyebrows raised as she tapped her nails on the table, drumming out a small beat. Colt found the sound both melodic and threatening. Her siren song continued through his response. 

“It’ll only be on days where I model. You can deal with it.”

“What do you have against cars?”

“C’mon, you didn’t like the ride over here?”

Roze shifted in her seat, the leather squeaking quietly beneath her. She noticed how he deflected the question, but if she was being honest, she had loved the feeling of the wind whipping her hair as the streets blurred past her, the muscles of the driver flexing under her touch with a warmth pressed to her chest, his rich scent wafting over her as she hugged him tighter to keep from falling. 

Was she going to admit it?

_No._

She refused to give him the satisfaction. 

He didn’t deserve it. 

Instead, she reached into her purse and pulled out a gum wrapper and a ballpoint pen. He watched silently with his head cocked as she pressed the tip of the pen to her tongue, eyes trained on the string of saliva that formed between her lips and the utensil. This time, he refused to stop the flood of images coming to mind of just what she would look like with her lips wrapped around his dick, drool dripping onto his skin. He decided she would be more attractive that way because anything she said would be felt, not heard. 

“Here’s my number. We can talk later since I have to go home. Take me back to the studio?” He was snapped from his explicit thoughts by her pressing the gum wrapper into his hand, complete with a quick self-portrait of Roze next to the sequence of numbers. 

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to comment and talk to me on @mrsbhandari on tumblr! i love hearing from you guys!!


	5. Screwdriver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colt and Roze overcome some of their differences...kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i def wasn't planning on smut for this chapter but then i did it so....enjoy, horndogs

Colt’s next call from the professor came a few days after his ‘date’ with Roze. They had barely texted in the time they’d been apart, which was fine by him. He thought she was pretty, but annoying in how headstrong she was. He was trying to help her and what does he get? Albeit, he was mostly doing it for selfish reasons.

 _Everyone in the world is selfish. I’m not a bad guy._ He shook his head. _No use thinking about it now._ He was fiddling with his bike, trying anything to make it go impossibly faster when he heard his coworker Logan speaking with someone near the entrance to the garage. Just the sound of his voice set Colt’s nerves alight, but after seeing Roze talking to him with a flirty smile tugging at her lips, he swore his sight went red for a second.

“‘Scuse me, pretty boy,” Colt interrupted, throwing his screwdriver aside and wiping his hands off on a clear spot on his overalls that were folded over on his body, revealing his sweaty tank top and a little bit of his boxers. Roze’s eyes raked over him, but she didn’t seem impressed. 

“Buzz off, Colt, I’m with a very important customer,” Logan shot back, sending a cheesy wink in Roze’s direction.

“Don’t worry about censoring yourself around her; Roze swears like a sailor.” If Logan was upset about Colt already knowing about Roze, he didn’t show it. “What are you doing here?” Colt turned his attention to her.

“Going to class. You’re modeling, remember? We’re doing dynamic positions with clothing today.” He hated to admit it, but the way her eyes lit up when she spoke of art made his heart flutter. 

“You’re cute _and_ an artist? Wow,” Logan piped up, prompting a scoff from Colt as Roze smiled at his coworker again. 

“Roze, come with me. I need to make sure Mr. Smooth here keeps his greasy mitts off you.” He didn’t wait for a response before turning on his heel and walking down the hallway to his room, expecting Roze to follow. She reluctantly did, but complained when they got to the room together and shut the door. 

“What’s wrong with Logan?”

“He fucks anything with a pulse.”

“Your point?” Roze gave him a playful glare when he stammered and snapped his head to look at her laying casually on his bed. 

“I--I have to take a shower. Think you can keep it in your pants that long, or should I get Logan in here?” She laughed, sending another shock to his heart when he stepped into his small bathroom connected to his room. He kept the door cracked. “Weren’t you the one who was the most blushy when you saw me naked?”

“It wasn’t because you were naked, it was because you were hot.” Roze could feel the snark about to exit his mouth, so she quickly shut him down. “Then I heard you speak and changed my mind.”

“Oh, please, admit it: you think I’m sexy.” Colt’s voice carried over the steady stream of water from the shower. She didn’t respond, electing to take in her surroundings instead. His room was dark and macho, sparsely decorated besides the few posters tacked to the wall behind her. She recognized her own drawing of him from when he fixed her car and she stupidly ruined her chances with him when she was so nervous and everything that came out of her mouth was unintentionally hostile. She looked closer and realized that he had also pinned the gum wrapper she gave him and the receipt from the diner on the white space around her original picture. 

_Is he just sentimental?_ She thought, confused as to why he would keep so much in their limited time together. _This isn’t going to last forever. Is he just trying to be convincing? Just in case?_

The water turned off and Colt entered the room a few seconds later, naked except for the towel slung low on his hips, revealing a deep v-line and rippling muscles. Her eyes traced the dark path of hair under his navel until it disappeared under the fabric. “Why did you come so early? Class isn’t for another hour.”

“This was our first time doing the whole ‘arrive together’ thing, so I wanted to give us enough time.”

“You scoff when I call you uptight, and then you do something that proves my point.”

“Shut up.” She said it with no malice, looking instead at his exposed body that was sending heat directly to her core. He was annoying as hell but _God, was he hot_. He noticed her staring, the hard gaze making his dick twitch under the towel. 

“See something you like?” he teased, feet pattering over to her on the bed before he could convince himself not to. She stiffened on his blanket, waiting for him to do something. When he made it clear that the ball was in her court, she sighed, eye level with where his towel was hiding his hard-on. 

“Not really.” She tried to feign apathy, but couldn’t stop her breath from catching when Colt dropped his towel, exposing himself completely to her. He took a handful of her long hair and pulled her head back so that she was looking at his face with her neck exposed. He grew impossibly harder at the low moan she let out from the rough treatment. 

“Wanna try again?” 

Her breathing and heart rate quickened as she looked back down at his dick in front of her with half-open eyes, taking it in her hand and wrapping her lips around his shaft without a second thought, prompting a loud groan from Colt, whose hand was still tangled in her hair. He set a brutal pace, gasping when his tip hit the back of her throat and brought tears to her eyes. 

“You don’t like what you see? Well, how about what you taste, slut?” he said, pulling her off him and leaning down to give her a bruising kiss. He originally aimed for her swollen pink lips, but tilted his head at the last second to press it to her neck, suckling at the skin. “I’m not allowed to kiss you, remember?” Her hands clawed at his back, sure to leave marks that the art students would probably include in their drawings. Roze pulled away from him and stood from the bed to undress, berating him as her pants and shirt fell to the ground. 

‘You’re such a fucking asshole and I can’t believe I actually let you talk me into this whole fake dating plot, you cocky bast--!” He cut her off with a hard bite to her bare shoulder as soon as she was naked, his cock pressing into her stomach as he walked her backward to the wall before picking her up by her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her head back to the wall, overcome by the perfect feeling of his lips on her earlobe. Without warning, he pushed into her and let out a groan. “My pussy too good for you, Kaneko?” He answered with a rough thrust that left her gasping and incoherent.

“I should ask you the same thing about my cock, _whore_.” He punctuated his degrading nickname with a thrust and nipped his teeth into the sensitive skin behind her ear, causing her to moan loud from the combination of the feeling and the names. She screamed as he hit the perfect angle inside her, shocks of pleasure shooting up her spine. He grunted and let out a shaky breath as she clenched around him, feeling his release building and coiling in his stomach. Dropping her, he briefly pulled out of her and brought her to his empty desk, ignoring her whimpers when he bent her over so her breasts were pressed into the wood. The angle Colt thrusted at somehow made her louder, obsessed with finding her pleasure. She matched him thrust for thrust, screaming again when he landed a heavy hand on her ass.

“That’s right, scream for my cock, baby,” he called and the stark contrast between the sweet term of endearment and her quickly reddening ass sent her over the edge. 

“ _Colt, fuck!_ ” Her nails dug into the wood beneath her as she climaxed, spasming around his dick. Feeling his own orgasm approaching, Colt pulled out and flipped her over so her back was on the desk and he was standing between her open legs. Running a hand down his shaft, he sent thick ribbons of his cum over her body, painting the tan skin of her stomach and breasts white. The sight of her body covered in him as she panted almost made him come again, but he managed to control himself. He found it harder to handle when she ran an index finger into the sticky liquid, coating a digit and sucking it clean.

“Salty,” she mused, still breathing hard. 

“ _Jesus--_ ” 

“Agreed.” Colt’s fingers were gripping her hip, sure to leave bruises to accompany the ones on her neck. 

“Wanna shower? We’ve still got half an hour.”

“Fuck yes, asshole.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you liked it!! don't forget to comment and come talk to me on tumblr @mrsbhandari!!


	6. Graphite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colt and Roze refuse to confront feelings that arose after their...eventful morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been a while and i apologize!! i just didn't have a lot of inspiration for this but then i finally finished this chapter today so enjoy!!

The steam of the shower was only adding to the clouding of his mind as his hands ran down Roze’s sides, making her shiver despite the heat of the water. 

“To be clear-- _oh_ \--This means nothing,” she said, moaning as his lips attached to her neck and added to the hickeys there. Colt felt a twinge of sadness, but he didn’t know about what. She moved her hands up to his shoulders and he forgot completely.

“Mhmm.”

“Seriously, Colt, this is just to...relieve tension.”

“Mhmm.”

“Colt, pay atten-- _oh, yes_.” Colt cut her off with a swift bite to the junction of her shoulder and her neck as well as a finger brushing her entrance, sufficiently lubricated from a combination of her own slick and the water. He easily slid two fingers into her, letting a gasp reverberate in the shower as he pressed against her sweet spot. Instantly, her grip tightened on his biceps, tough beneath her touch. Nails embedded themselves into his skin, sure to leave crescent bruises visible when he posed for her class in 20 minutes. 

Remembering his job, Colt quickened his fingers, relishing Roze’s loud gasps against his shoulder as they pressed their chests together. This may just be for ‘tension relieving,’ but _damn was it good._ Her orgasm hit her and his arm snaked around her waist, holding her up and against him while she moaned in his ear. She rode out her orgasm for a few more seconds before weakly grabbing his wrist and pulling his fingers out, catching her breath as the water cascaded down her back. Pulling away, she rested her hands on Colt’s shoulders, partially to hold herself up and partially to watch him as he raised his fingers to his lips, cleaning them with a long tongue while keeping eye contact with her.

“Delicious.”

“You’re so annoying,” she breathed out, cool facade broken by hitched breaths.

“At least I’m good at fucking, though, right?”

Her mouth barely quirked to a smile before falling back into her neutral pout. She stepped out of the shower without a word. 

“Right?!”

* * *

It was not the right time to wear a tank top, yet it was all she had. She had thought about asking Colt to borrow one of his shirts, but that seemed too...intimate. For their situation. That’s what she told herself. Secretly, Roze cursed the hot LA weather as well as her expectation that she wasn’t going to do anything with Colt when she met up with him at the garage. 

In all honesty, she knew that sex with Colt was a game-changer--especially sex _that good_. With sex, there were so many emotions swirling around, ripe for the taking, that it seemed impossible _not_ to fall for him. That stupid smile when he caught her staring, the way his eyes roll back when he came, the dark look in his eye when she got too lippy with him; they all added up to extend the emotions of that heavenly hour into a full-blown relationship, which is _not_ what she needed. Especially with Colt. _He agreed_. It had been ten minutes since they left the garage, yet she was already thinking about the possibility of next time with him. Internally, she cursed herself again for saying that it meant nothing. _But he agreed._

She ignored the pang of disappointment that found its way into her heart despite her best efforts to separate her feelings from this little...predicament she found herself in. _How am I supposed to fake date a person I keep feeling things for? Especially when he’s only using me to avoid a girl._

Said girl walked into the studio, giving Roze and her mosaic of bruises a major side-eye and eye roll. Ingrid’s eyes traveled to Colt, knowing that he should have marks as well, and scoffed at the deep red of the scratches along his shoulders, revealed by his wife beater and clean overalls that were folded over at the waist, much like how it was at the garage. Ingrid couldn’t deny that he looked like he should be June’s picture in a calendar, but she wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of knowing she thought that. 

“Did you have to wear that here?” Roze playfully tugged on one of the sleeves tied around his waist. He was leaning over her easel, looking down at her from where his chin was resting on the wood. 

“Professor told me to wear something and layer it. I’m a mechanic, not a designer.” In reality, the comment about his clothes _did_ hurt him a little, even if it wasn’t meant seriously. He didn’t look as stylish as most of the people in the class, and he definitely didn’t look cool or rich enough to be Roze’s boyfriend. She always looked fresh from an expensive magazine to him; he thought he looked like the search results for ‘mechanic’ at the Spirit Halloween website. He smiled a little at the thought and decided it was a problem to confront another day.

“Well, Kaneko, right now you’re a model.” Roze calling him by his last name only made the memories from an hour ago, already fresh, rush back into his mind. She sent him a smirk that let him know she knew what she made him think about. Their conversation was cut short by more students arriving for the class, prompting Colt to step up on the podium and strike a pose for the class, making sure to drape his clothing in a way they could draw to show the clothing. He felt a little bit more confident in himself with his girlfriend calling him a model, but he tried to keep his face neutral. 

He stood for hours on the podium, but he certainly couldn’t complain as he was standing directly in front of Roze who, in between actually drawing him, spent more of the time making silly faces to get him to laugh and break his resolve. His girlfriend was so cute. 

_Except she’s not._ The thought hit him like a bag of bricks. _This is temporary. You fucked and she said it didn’t mean anything. And why should it? She’s a cool art student, going places. You’re stuck here with no direction. Better to get that through your head now rather than later. This is all fake._ His face turned pensive as he stood there, ignoring her cross-eyes in her most recent attempt to make him break. _She’s probably just acting to make this whole thing more believable_ , he reasoned, pushing all thoughts of a real relationship out of his head. Suddenly, all he wanted was for the class to be over. 

His wish was soon granted by the professor clapping his hands together and announcing the class’ end. Before he could leave, Roze gathered her stuff and approached him, wary of the watchful eye Ingrid was casting over them to catch any slip-ups that would indicate any reason to believe that something was amiss.

“Wanna go to lunch? My pick today.” She sent him a sweet smile that he couldn’t help but melt at the sight of. _Fuck. Don’t think it means anything._ He gave a curt nod and a tight smile in response, ignoring the concern that clouded her eyes. _This means nothing._

* * *

“I’ll pay.” Colt’s eyes flitted to hers across the fancy table as she handed a stack of bills to the waiter, telling him to keep the change as a tip. Colt didn’t want to say that he felt emasculated by Roze paying, because he was perfectly fine with that aspect of it. He did, however, feel poor. Here he was in this nice restaurant (cloth napkins and a mini chandelier for every table? Bougie.) in _overalls_ , trying to brush off the pitying looks that kept getting sent Roze’s way as she sat with him and paid for him _with cash_. 

_They must think it’s a gender-bent_ Pretty Woman _situation_. The demons in his head laughed at him, boiling his blood and stirring the pot of deprecating thoughts swirling around his mind. _I’m not a charity case._ Roze seemed to notice his sudden change in attitude but decided to say nothing about it. 

“How was your risotto?”

“Good.”

“And your chicken?”

“Fine. Little dry.”

“Oh, mine tasted great.”

“Congrats.”

“Ok, fuckwad.” She slammed her cutlery down on her plate and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table to carry her head on her interlocked fingers. “What’s with you?”

He feigned disinterest. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You were fine this morning and through class, but then you just...shut down.”

“I don’t know why you would care. It’s not like we’re dating or anything.” Colt didn’t know what the fuck he was saying. 

“Are you always this angsty?” The comment surprised him and he looked over to find Roze with her head cocked and an amused shine in her eyes. The sight made one part of him sweat and the other scoff. 

“Why did you bring me here, Roze?”

“I like it here,” she answered without missing a beat. 

“Why?”

“Why are you asking?”

“I want to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you liked this dont forget to comment!! if you wanna talk to me about this or anything else, visit my tumblr @mrsbhandari!!


	7. Cups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colt has a conversation with both of the Wheelers. He can see a few similarities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiii this is way longer than I thought it was going to be, but I hope you like it!!

“My mother liked it here.” Colt’s eyes snapped up to hers, meeting an open and vulnerable gaze across the table. 

“What?”

“My mom. She died when I was young. Murdered in the street. This was her favorite restaurant.” All at once, Roze’s stare hardened and her tone changed to defensive and cold. For a split second, Colt was scared. “It’s not important.”

“Well, Jesus, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s not like we’re dating or anything,” she mocked, a twinkle of amusement replacing the stony hatred in her eye and easing some of the tension. Colt wondered how long she had been doing that; confronting her pain only to hide behind a mask. “I thought that coming here would be good, so we can get to know each other better.”

Flashes of the morning crept into his mind. “I think we’re very well acquainted, don’t you?” He silently cursed himself for not taking anything seriously, but the small giggle she hid behind a stained hand erased the thought from his mind like an undo button. Her other hand covered his own and his heart began to race.

“How about….emotionally acquainted?” she said, ripping her hand away when she thought harder about her words. “You know...to be more convincing for Ingrid.” She cleared her throat, leaving Colt to hope that it covered the sound of his heart dropping to his shoes. “Ask me whatever you like.”

Looking at her encouraging smile slightly downplayed the rush of scenarios depicting this going horribly wrong that raced through Colt’s mind, but not by much. Nonetheless, he sighed and thought of an easy question with little to no consequences. “Favorite color?”

“Seriously?” Colt shrugged. “Purple. Yours?”

“Black.”

“That’s not a color.”

“Don’t go all ‘pretentious art student’ on me.”

She laughed again, but it was fuller this time. It formed a hazy bubble around Colt’s mind. “Fine. Your turn.”

“This is a game?”

“Just ask questions. And make it uncomfortable this time. Don’t be scared.”

“Uh...okay, what was your first impression of me?”

There was a flash of surprise in her eyes that was quickly replaced with a long, thoughtful look as she tried to come up with an answer. Colt considered if she was debating lying or not, but she finally came up with an answer. 

“I thought you were arrogant and conceited.” Her tone was certain and obvious, as if she hadn’t spent time to arrive at a response. 

“Explain.”

“It’s not your turn.” A playful gleam accompanied the deep brown of her irises.

“It’s not a question, and I’m not asking.”

“Mm,” she hummed, and he decided not to mention the shiver he saw go down her spine, electing to tuck it away for later instead. “Well, you were naked, so I wasn’t completely in the right headspace. But you were naked and seemed to be fine with it...which is fine, it’s just…” she trailed off, eyes flitting between his to try and find the right words between his eyelashes. “You had this smirk.”

Colt raised an eyebrow.

“I saw it and immediately thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s an asshole.’” She popped another piece of chicken into her mouth, surely cold by now. 

“Hm.” Colt gave a smirk. 

“There! That’s the one. I was right about it, you know.”

“You think I’m arrogant?”

“Yup.”

“And conceited?”

“‘We need to prove to Ingrid that you can get a guy as hot as me!’” she imitated, dropping her voice and mimicking his smug smile. He hated that it was actually a pretty decent impression. 

“Alright, alright,” he surrendered, holding his hands up. “I’m exactly what people think I am: an asshole.”

“Mm…” She pursed her lips. “I think there’s more to you. I’m coming around. Although that first impression was forever captured in that drawing, I’m afraid.”

Colt recalled the haughty, regal look she drew with her first assignment and smiled at the memory. “I don’t know. I kinda liked how you made me look. Plus, you’re crazy fast!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Everyone else only did my body, but you had time for face and everything. Very impressive.” She liked the way his eyes lit up at the thought of her art; it filled her stomach with butterflies. “It’s your turn.” 

“Oh! Uh, why do you not like cars?” Colt’s eyes dropped to his empty plate and his eyebrows furrowed. He stayed silent so long, Roze worried she hit a nerve, but he finally opened his mouth to speak, looking like the action pained him. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I can ask another question.” He nodded, giving her a small smile that eased the tensions in her shoulders. “Well, what was your first impression of me?”

“Innocent,” he answered, no hesitation. 

“What?!” Her surprised face sent him into a fit of boisterous laughter, face flushing as he caught the attention of other customers at surrounding tables. 

“Your….face!” he wheezed, face filled with uninterrupted glee. Even though he was laughing at her, she couldn’t help but laugh with him. He had an unexpectedly contagious laugh, one that he rarely let out in public--or ever. She took a sip of her water, hoping that it would cool down the heat that spread to her neck. “Ah, that was priceless!”

“How about you tell me why you thought that, meanie?” She picked off a piece of asparagus and threw it across the table at him, hitting him harmlessly in the cheek before falling to his plate. 

“When I got undressed and was posing and stuff, you got really flustered. I figured that you hadn’t really seen...anything like that.” He wiggled his eyebrows, cheeks still red. “I was wrong, judging by your lovely performance this morning.” 

“Tch. Whatever. It’s your turn.”

“Hm...why do you pay cash for everything?” 

“What?”

“You always pull out cash when you have to pay. At the garage and here. Why?”

“Oh, um.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “My dad is...weird about my money. He’s just protective, but he tracks my accounts and stuff. It’s just a habit to pay with cash so he doesn’t worry about it.” Colt hummed, not wanting to push her. “I’m not like...rich, or anything like that. Did you think I was?”

It was Colt’s turn to shift in his seat. “Well...kind of. You would just pull out wads of bills and I thought--” He cut himself off, trying to avoid offending her. She nodded. 

“No, I understand. I must’ve looked really pretentious, huh?” Her voice sounded small, and Colt knew that this was a sore spot for her, so he didn’t want to patronize her. Luckily, their conversation was cut short by her phone ringing, a soft piano melody rising from her purse. 

“Dad, hey! What’s--Yeah, I’m with him.” Roze gave him a small wink, trying to lessen the awkwardness of Colt listening to the one-sided conversation. “Bring...him?” Her eyes went wide as they met Colt’s. “Uh…” He frantically shook his head, trying to convey that it was _not_ a good idea. “Sure!” Colt gave a look, eyebrows knit and mouth partially open in shock. She finished her call and gave a sheepish smile. 

“Roze, I don’t _do_ parents.”

“It’s only one.”

“...I don’t do _parent_.”

“I hope not, that’d be awkward.” Colt sent her an exasperated expression. “It’s not that bad!”

“What have you even told him about our...unique situation?”

“That I was seeing a guy from my art class, that’s it.”

“ _That’s_ what you told him? He’s going to think I’m some artist guy.” She shook her head slightly, asking him to elaborate. “I’m a mechanic, Roze. Far cry from ‘cool artist worthy of your daughter.’”

“It’s technically true that you’re from my art class, so you have no reason to worry.”

“What if he doesn’t like me?”

“It’s likely.”

“Roze!”

“I’m preparing you! He’s a detective and very...gruff. He’ll have to warm up to you.”

“How do I get him to do that?”

“Be yourself.”

“Bullshit.”

* * *

“Roze and friend! Come in.” The man, Mr. Wheeler, greeted them with a warm smile that made Colt wonder if Roze lied just to see him sweat about making a good impression on her father. The couple walked in, hand-in-hand, and Colt looked around, loving the small, cozy feeling of the house. It really felt like _home_. Roze detangled her fingers from his own, and he felt the feeling dim ever so slightly.

“Hello, sir. I’m Colt.” He grasped Mr. Wheeler’s hand in his own, nearly wincing at the death grip the older man had. Looking closer, Colt realized that the smile didn’t reach her father’s eyes. _Shit_.

“So I’ve heard; Rosemary doesn’t stay quiet about you.” Colt held in his surprise at hearing her full name.

“Dad!”

“Oh, come on, Roze. I have to embarrass you.”

“Mhm.” 

“Can you get us some drinks? I’ll have a beer,” he requested, eyeing Colt as if testing him. 

“Just water for me, I drove.” A slight flicker of approval in Mr. Wheeler’s eyes told Colt he passed. Roze walked to the kitchen, leaving the two men alone. 

“Yes, drove a motorcycle?” 

“Yes, sir.” Colt sat with almost obnoxiously good posture, trying to discreetly wipe his sweaty palms on the pants of his overalls.

“Hm.” Mr. Wheeler’s face barely changed, but Colt could feel the judgement radiating off him. To avoid digging himself further into any holes, he elected to stay silent and let Roze’s father do all the asking. Briefly, Colt thought of how he didn’t _need_ to impress him; this is all fake. Roze isn’t really his girlfriend. There was no reason he couldn’t just walk out of this house right now. He remembered the feeling of her hand in his and thought hard about what exactly he was doing here, but Mr. Wheeler interrupted the discussion Colt was having with himself. “You ever had an accident on one of those things?”

“No, sir.” Colt could hear the noise in the kitchen and prayed that Roze would come back. Until she did, he tracked her sound to help distract from the icy glare that was so far removed from what he associated with his girlfriend, he wondered if she was adopted. 

“Never?” _Clink!_ Roze was taking a bottle out of the fridge.

“No, I always take the utmost care with my bike. It was a gift from my mother.” A soft _ksh_. She closed the fridge. 

“Your mother?” _Psh-psh_. Roze’s bare feet on the tile as she walked through the kitchen. 

“Yes, she’s on the east coast. I used to live with her but moved here to be closer with my dad.” A hollow _thunk_. A plastic cup being set down on the counter. 

“What does your father do?” Multiple high pitched taps. Ice being put into the cup. 

“He owns a garage, I’m a mechanic there.” Colt pointed to the small logo embroidered above his name tag on his outfit, focusing on the loud _shh_ from the faucet. Roze was pouring the water. 

“Ah,” Mr. Wheeler nodded his head in understanding as Roze walked back to where the two men were sitting in the dining room. “You’ll have to forgive me for not connecting the dots with your outfit; I thought you were a stripper.”

“Colt had been sipping his water as his anxiety had dried his tongue, but Mr. Wheeler’s admission made him choke and sputter. “Sir?”

“Dad!” Roze sent her father a glare, and Colt realized that her cold expression was actually pretty similar. 

“What? C’mon, I’m just playing with the kid. Plus, you said he’s from your art class, and I read that art pays so little that some do have to resort to that line of work.” He casually took a sip of his beer while Colt sent confused glances over to Roze. 

“He’s not an artist, Dad. He’s been the model for a few classes. I’ve drawn him; that’s how we met.”

Her father perked up, sending an interested glance towards Colt, who prepared himself for anything else completely random that could possibly be said. 

“Nude?” Mr. Wheeler asked, a playful smirk complemented by a dangerous look in his eyes. 

“ _Okay!_ That’s enough chatting. Colt needs to get back to the garage, right?”

“Uh, yes. It was a pleasure meeting you, sir.”

“Likewise.” Mr. Wheeler waved a bored hand as Colt was dragged out the door and across the street by a fuming a ranting Roze.

“--so disrespectful, I can’t believe it! He always does this and acts stupid! _Stripper? Because you don’t make money with art?!_ ” They reached Colt’s bike, Roze’s voice rising until Colt was sure that her father could hear her outburst from inside. 

“Hey, hey,” Colt cooed, pulling her flush against his body without a second thought. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around his wrist, nuzzling her face into his neck as best she could. The hug was tender, far more tender than Colt ever believed he could be with another human being. They stood like that for minutes before she wordlessly pulled away, face flushed. Colt gave her a small wave as he climbed on his bike and secured his helmet, riding off with a small “see ya.”

She crossed the street and slammed her door shut after entering, sending another glare her father’s way. He was still on the couch, looking at her with an amused smile. “Was that really necessary, Dad?”

“I liked him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! I hope you liked it and if you did, don't forget to comment!!

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i hope you liked it and don't forget to comment!! i wanna hear you guys!!! (heart heart heart)


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